Two Years Later
by BreezeRogue63
Summary: After a past of running and running on her own, SIlvercloud comes across a familiar tree in a forest. She soon finds that Pike, an old tribe mate of hers, has settled down in such place. As she tells him her story, she wonders if it's possible that she'll ever be able to go back to the tribe. And then Pike does something she wasn't expecting. Pike/OC. I do not own anything 'cept OC


A tired and weary Silvercloud collapsed on the bed, which was a collection of furs spread across the floor of a hollow knob in the newfound tree. She stared at the dark brown wooden ceiling quietly, her well-accustomed eyes seeing the twists and turns in the pattern of the wood. For the longest time she held her breath, then let it out in a slow and steady stream. It had been so long since she had tasted the grainy air of a tree like this one.

The quiet outside made for good thinking soundtrack. Silvercloud's mind drafted in old memories as the whirs and chirps of the night steadily proceeded. She remembered the Holt, the home tree so much like this one that she had found. With it se remembered the memories of hunts and howls and the endless nights of watching stars with her brother.

She remembered the day when Cutter was made chieftain of the tribe, and when the humans burned everything down, and she remembered watching the smoke and flames devour their hunting grounds.

With a hint of a smile, she remembered going to the trolls - the cavern where they hid underground - and demanding for shelter. The smile slipped off when she recalled the trolls craftily to the false hope of a luscious green land, with woods and plenty of animals to hunt. She remembered the heat of the sun bouncing off the sand of the desert wasteland and into the eyes of the betrayed.

Silvercloud remembered the period of time after that, when the tribe of forest elves met the first race that didn't live in the forest, the Sun People of Sorrow's End. She chuckled softly when she remembered how barbarically they had raided the place for food. And the looks on their tanned faces! Silvercloud had to bit ever lip to stop from laughing again. She remembered how Cutter had fallen for the green eyed fiery healer carrying her vase of water, how he had mindlessly picked her up, how he had swung her over his shoulder.

Smugly she brought up the memory of the defeat of Rayek, the great hunter of Sorrow's End. She remembered how he had almost fallen off the bridge, and how Cutter had saved him. Afterwards all he could do was leave. She didn't see him again until he saved her chieftain's life after a terrible troll fight.

The memories continued to fly past her eyes, like a movie. Silvercloud relished every scene, every line, every joke. She smiled where she had smiled - and even where she had frowned. Then towards the end she began to let the smile slide away. Towards the end, she began to lose more and more people. Son she was traveling by herself.

A familiar thought began to surface in Silvercloud's mind. Why her? Why did she have to go through all this? Why couldn't things turn out better than this? What had she done wrong? Why?

Silvercloud pushed the thoughts down quickly. No. Not self pity again. She had spent far too many hours during her loneliness wallowing in the poisonous moping that self-pity brought, and she wouldn't do it again. No matter how alone she was, Silvercloud was a WolfRider. WolfRiders were always strong. They fought to prosper and to continue and to survive and -

The welled up cries burst out in small choked portions. Hot, wet tears of anguish exploded onto the warmth of the furs on the floor below her. Silvercloud turned onto her stomach and buried her wet face in her arms, and, for the first time in a long while, in this tree that she had just found, she began to drain the pain that she had felt during the two years of solitude from herself through her tears. The nighttime life continued with their roles in the habitat, oblivious to the lonely WolfRider crying in the tree.

After an hour, or perhaps two - time was hard to tell when you were sobbing your heart out - Silvercloud's crying reduced to a series of shuddering breast. She stared in front of her, at the curving wall of the small sleeping area. Her eyelids were navy now, and the thought of sleep brought pleasant feelings welling up inside. Slowly she rolled onto her back, looking at the wooden ceiling again.

That night, Silvercloud was enveloped in a dreamless sleep.


End file.
